Harry Little was a contradiction to his name; he was a tall, powerful man, lean and lithe, but as gentle as a lamb. He had a thick mop of brown hair and hazel eyes, an easy smile, a quick temper, and a heart as kind as any you could hope to find.

‘There!’ Placing her on the seat at the front of the wagon, Harry took a blanket from a box under the seat. ‘That should help keep you warm.’

Watching Harry tuck the blanket round her legs, Bridget couldn’t help but smile. He was like a mother hen. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I know it was stupid of me to try and make my way home in this weather.’

He climbed on to the seat beside her. ‘So why did you do it?’

Bridget shrugged. ‘It’s Friday and I wanted to get home, that’s all. And now I’ve turned my ankle.’

‘Hmm!’ Clicking the horse on, he skilfully manoeuvred the cart to the highest ground; pitting his strength against the elements was no easy matter. ‘Hold on tight,’ he warned. ‘There’s no way round this lot, Bridget. We’ll have to plough right through it.’ The weather was worsening by the minute, and Blackburn town was a good six miles away.

Sneaking a glance at Bridget, Harry couldn’t help thinking how pretty she was. With that long, thick brown hair and big brown eyes, she had the bright, wondrous look of a child. Even now, with just her cold, pink nose poking above the blanket, her goodness shone out, and not for the first time he realised how much he loved her.

‘I’m surprised the master let you out at all,’ he said. ‘If he had any sense he’d have made you wait until I got back, or at least offered to take you home himself.’

‘He did.’ Bridget suspected that Harry already knew.

‘I thought as much.’ The wind was howling so loudly that he had to yell to make himself heard. ‘Fancied his chances, did he? The lecherous bugger!’

Just then the cart struck a boulder and the impact threw them sideways. ‘Jesus! That’s all we need.’ Harry climbed from the seat and took stock of the situation. ‘Part of the wall seems to have broken away,’ he called back. ‘It must have given out under the weight of snow.’ Squaring his shoulders, he began digging into the rubble with his bare hands. ‘Got to clear a way here,’ he shouted. ‘Stay where you are, and keep well wrapped up.’ The wind was like a cold, hard blade slicing through him.

Glancing up, he was angered to see Bridget climbing down from the cart. ‘No! Stay there!’ Waving his arms, he gestured to her not to come any further.

Pretending not to hear, Bridget ignored him. In no time at all, she was beside him, pulling her weight with his to roll back the large boulders that blocked their way.

‘You’re a stubborn little devil,’ Harry told her, but he admired her determination all the same, especially when he knew she was in pain from her ankle.